Michael Flynn's plea deal could be proof he has something 'very valuable' to offer on someone at 'the center' of the Russia investigation

Legal experts say the former White House national
security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea is most likely
evidence that he's cooperating with investigators with
information concerning much larger targets.

Targets would most likely be "someone at the center —
or close to the center — of this criminal enterprise," one
expert said.

Legal experts told Business Insider that the plea deal struck by Michael
Flynn, the former White House national security adviser, with
the special counsel Robert Mueller was most likely evidence that
Flynn has damaging information to offer prosecutors on other
persons of interest in the Russia investigation.

It's unclear who that would be, but most likely "someone at the
center — or close to the center — of this criminal enterprise,"
Jens David Ohlin, a professor at Cornell Law School, told
Business Insider, adding that the fact Flynn was "charged with
and is pleading guilty to such a minor crime suggests a bombshell
of a deal with prosecutors."

On Friday, Flynn pleaded guilty in federal court to making false
statements to federal investigators about his discussions last
December with Russia's ambassador to the US at the time, Sergey
Kislyak.

A charging document filed by Mueller's office says Flynn "falsely
stated" that he did not ask Kislyak during the presidential
transition period "to refrain from escalating the situation in
response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against
Russia that same day."

It also says he did not recall Kislyak later telling him that
"Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as
a result of his request."

It further says Flynn told Mueller's team he did not ask Kislyak
to "delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security
Council resolution" and that Kislyak "subsequently never
described to Flynn Russia's response to his request."

But Flynn was also heavily scrutinized over his work at his
outside intelligence firm and for dealings involving the Turkish
government, including his initial failure to register properly as
a foreign agent.

The plea indicates that Flynn is cooperating with Mueller's
Russia investigation

The plea means Flynn is cooperating with Mueller's team, experts
said, adding that several other targets — including President
Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., and his senior adviser
and son-in-law, Jared Kushner — could all be in Mueller's
crosshairs.

Soon after Flynn entered his guilty plea in federal court,
ABC News reported, citing a
source close to Flynn, that he was prepared to testify against
Trump.

"This indicates that there is significant cooperation against
much bigger targets," Jed Shugerman, a Fordham University law
professor, told Business Insider. "And you can speculate over who
those targets are, but someone like Mueller is not just going to
take a Flynn plea deal to cooperate laterally. This deal is
narrowed to such a minor charge that it is clear it is in return
for very significant cooperation against a much larger figure."

Robert
Mueller.Thomson
Reuters

He added that the plea deal was evidence that Flynn's cooperation
had already been secured.

Though more information related to Flynn could be forthcoming,
Shugerman said Mueller may also decide to "keep his cards close
to his chest" while he is still interviewing people such as
Kushner or Trump Jr.

"Mueller does better by not releasing too much information now
that Flynn has given it to him because it allows him to use that
information strategically as he's interviewing other witnesses,"
he said.

Robert Chesney, a University of Texas law professor, told
Business Insider in an email that the "critical question" moving
forward was "whether and to what extent he has agreed to
cooperate with the ongoing investigations of others in exchange
for this deal."

"So far we do not know, though of course we can speculate that he
is, in fact, doing so to some extent," he said. "One thing it
almost certainly does not mean, though, is that the investigation
is winding down."

William Yeomans, a former deputy assistant attorney
general who spent 26 years at the Justice Department, said
Flynn's guilty plea "is likely big trouble for several members of
the Trump administration."

"Clearly, others knew about — and may have helped
coordinate— the communication with the Russian ambassador, but
Trump officials have uniformly denied such contacts and knowledge
of them," Yeomans said in an email.

"This development thoroughly undermines Trump’s unrealistic
predictions that the investigation will end soon...it appears
likely that many more shoes will drop before Mueller is done. And
it is particularly ominous for others that Flynn appears to have
gotten a generous deal and appears still to be
cooperating."